399
Replies
sheesh. I typed this huge long mssg.. and accidentally hit palm of hand on del key and lost it all...omg...
I will now recap what I typed really fast. and abbreviated...
re: the chic and the guy.. and not talking to him anymore after calamity on water.
she was obviously stupid and probably didnt help during wx crisis.. probably no clue re: boating..and blamed him for wx. etc.
happens a lot out there... even among seasoned couples. really.. you have no idea how many large sail boats get to tahiti and NZ etc. from north amer. with cat fights between husband and wife and have to sell boat, get divorced and HATE HATE HATE each other.
on canada lake ny ( near JIM SIMON) we had camp. was eastmans first summer home. boathouse, sea wall, big house etc.
Couple power boats ( small ) in boathouse, sailboat ( penguin , 12 ' wood ) at dock on side of boathouse ( I rebuilt it ).
4 of us went to sailing school on city is. and got certified. me, rose ( lived with in coop 64st, bway / cpw ), jim ( 66st bet bway cpw) and rose's sister. we all went to course, and got certified ( asa master thing ).
I fell in love with it. sailing.. nobody else did. I was bonkers about it for years. loved it.
if you know sunfish, think of penguin ( 12 feet big main ) like sunfish times 5... way heavier ( wood), way bigger main, center board...
If you dont see puff coming .. you are gonna go over.. period... you have to pay attention non stop. and be fast... respond fast. The wind is weird and very challenging on the lake due to mountains etc.
sooo one weekend jim and new girlfriend come up with me and rose to summer home...cant get to house by car.. must walk trail or go by boat. garages and docks for US is about 2 miles east on lake.. like a waypoint between boats and cars. House has boathouse dock alongside, sea wall, etc... big place. probably biggest place on lake at the time.
so Jim tells girlfriend about how much fun sailing is ( this is a film biz thing too, as jim is a prop and me and rose work in it too ). Jim is telling his new girlfriend about sailing ..and she is excited and its nice out and sunny and its beautiful and the nice penguin is just sitting there at dock... and he asks if he can take it out ...
I tell him about the centerboard, the size of sail , the way you have to really pay attention or ELSE , and tell him about the strange wind stuff that happens due to mountains surrounding the lake etc... he is not deterred...he is certified. I say, okay.. I'll show you how the centerboard works and the main etc...
they go out ... " bye " " see you later " " have fun " girlfriend and him in swim suits.. in love with each other.. in paradise on canada lake. off they go....
me and rose go back in house up the slope of lawn and continue making some fantastic meal we've been planning for about a month.. paella or whatever.. boullibaise ? who knows.. something big.. for us it's a really big time to finally be together and relax.
All of a sudden there is this really LOUD banging on the door. We get to door and there's these neighbors waving their arms and yelling and jumping up and down and pointing out the the lake... and we look and see a flotilla of boats out there , far away.. little tiny boats way off in the distance.. and some jet skiis and various size boats and sorta a cluster of activity...
What the ???
THE PENGUIN HAS SUNK ! IT CAPSIZED AND SANK !
WHAT !!!!! ?????
OMG
WHAT ABOUT JIM AND HIS GIRLFRIEND ???
They have been rescued.. they will be here soon..
We run to the sea wall and look at what's going on out there.. a bunch of power boats are coming toward us ... others are drifting away.. there no sign of the penguin...
The boats arrive and Jim and his girlfriend are okay.. and get on land.. and stagger around mumbling things .. most of it incoherent.. we hug them, say how great it is to see you are okay and ' what happened ? " the girlfriend makes a bee line for the house and Jim stands there on the lawn mumbling stuff..and then just bee lines for the house.. apparently after his girl friend...
We find out from the neighbors that the PENGUIN is dead...sank...gone... nobody knows what happened. They hear yelling and screaming and the word " HELP HELP HELP " a lot... so everyone jumped in their boats and raced toward the screaming...and got two people out of the water....
So we say thanks so much and we have to go in and talk to our guests and thanks a ton and thank you so much.. and we all go our own ways...
Me and rose get into the house and hear some extremely loud YELLING upstairs in one of the bedrooms... so we sorta go into the den and then into the kitchen and then into the living room and then back to the den...and look at the fireplace, and then go back to the kitchen to check on food ...while the YELLING CONTINUES UPSTAIRS..
Meantime I'm wondering.. how deep is the water out there where the flotilla was ? Could the penguin be saved somehow ??? Brought up from the depths...before it rots ???
Jim comes downstairs .. and for the rest of this particular vacation we see JIM .. but we DONT EVER SEE his girlfriend anymore... She has decided to stay in the bedroom upstairs.. JIM will get another separate bedroom... but can pass food to her as needed...
It turns out that sure enough the girl did NOT KNOW HOW TO SWIM.. that was the first screw up. It also turns out that JIM sucked sailing on a lake and didn't see the puff coming that ( when on a run ) swung the boom around 180 degrees and whacked his girlfriend in the head.. shooting her overboard like a dead weight ....nearly unconcious...
Jim immediately abandoned ship jumping into the water AFTER HER.. without grabbing a life jacket or floatable thing...or rope or nothing...
They nearly drowned and had a very unpleasant experience.. and finally got rescued by some astute neighbors ( kids on jet skiis were the first to respond ).
It took about 6 months ... but Jim and his girlfriend finally got back together and last I heard were actually maybe like MARRIED....
I got the PENGUIN up from the depths and dumped the water out of it and it was fine...
Me and Rosemary ended up hating each other after 10 years on 64 st and I moved into the shadows of NYC while she stayed in the coop.
Then I moved to MN.
good question.
I was going down in flames...in nyc...thats the main reason for moving at all.
At my age (62) I could no longer grip very well...too old. Jobs were hurting me physically. Can't run with dolly on long track anymore without getting winded. 14 hour work days were killing my legs and feet. Equipment was getting 'heavy'.
Got hired less and less often as younger guys were favored.
Hated doing set contruction ( short days, like 8 - 10 hours ).
Things were not looking good for me as a grip on big jobs.
Expenses kept rising ( apartment rent ). Just ME in apt.. one income.
Time going to and from work ( traffic ) kept getting worse and worse ( 1.5 to 2 hour commute to go 25 miles was now 'normal' ).
Nothing good was happening in nyc for me.
That's the reason I Moved... the story behind MN. as the specific place is a bit more whacky...but I like it here so that's good.
It's taken a year and a little more...15 months ? since I got here.. and I am finally for the first time in a gazillion years feeling NOT PANIC mode.
how to pay rent, how to buy camera, how to get better computer, how to upgrade adobe, how to have health insurance, how to have basics to get to work on still stuff and maybe some video stuff...in other words, how to just survive and have potential to work on stuff ..and not be worried constantly about how much the rent will increase when lease is up, etc...
I do have some worries yet.. but they are smaller in number and less critical ...and I think you're right.. I thank God a lot for it...
and I am finally for the first time in a gazillion years feeling NOT PANIC mode.
That's great news, and a lack of general panic can go along way, toward one's overall well-being.
Good luck, sit back, and enjoy!!!! Hey, you're living on "Walden Pond," for goodness sake.
Hunt
heh.. being in NOT PANIC mode does indeed improve your overall health...I eat better now, take the time to make meals more often instead of gobbling down cheap frozen stuff, drink less beer, have more moments of just being less freaked out...all kinds of little benefits..
But being on walden pond aint happening yet...maybe in a few more months ...its not about being in fairy land " happy " land.. its more about not being totally freaked out non stop every day ...know what I mean ?? probably not.. you have to live this to know what its like....
work freelance your whole life, get too old to do it anymore, and being a blue collar 'worker' ( with pay to match ) try to keep living...
It really is not easy and I worry that a whole TON of people ( my age group ) will soon be facing a very stark reality in the next 5-8 years....in the good ol USA.
speaking of which, shooternz.. I personally am so used to uncertainty and dysfunction and disparity and lack of leadership in DC the coming stupidity with debt ceiling is no big deal.... I can understand your amazement ...any normal society that is literate and not full of morally degenerate peoples must be looking at this stuff with raised eyebrows.
I know there are TONS of good people there, and in the UN and other places....but they get kinda drowned out by the media focusing on the cruds, and giving them the podium...and feeding the frenzy.. so good people end up silent...to the general populations...
we just have to not give up and do what we can personally.. sounds corny but is true..
and sometimes I personally have to say something like " Turtle man should be arrested for treason ".....and hope Jeff doesnt call me poisonous, etc...
But these forums are not for that sorta thing.. where people are going to be anything other than the sterile happy consumer....
Craig,
That is exactly what happens, when there is an "Elite Ruling Class."
That is exactly what the US Constitution was written to keep from happening. However, the US has gotten very far afield from that original concept. We now have our own version of "Royalty," with a bunch of Dukes, Princes, and the rest. The "people," are basically serfs, trying to curry favor, and improve their status. 
Hunt
Sounds like a good title for a Warren Zevon (RIP) song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X827MG-ugHE
Note: this is the "adult" version. 
Hunt
Shooter,
Unfortunately (depends on how one looks at it), I am with Steven on that one, but going to just overlook and move on... 
Still, our political system is, well, er-r-r, "messed up." That's why I want to draft your PM for the US. Steven and I will talk to him about the Second Amendment to the Constitution, but once he understands that, I think that he could whip this country into shape - come on, you've had him long enough! 
Hunt
Well guys..
I can only say that I feel privileged to be a NZ citizen and resident.
Despite a few shortcomings... we neither fear our neighbours or our government to the extent we need to arm our selves for protection.
We have a coalition government representing many , fairly evenly and well, and we have political choice without an underlying fundamentalist mentality from voters. People swing as they choose.
Relatively stable economy and we dont print money to control it.
Guns are controlled and police are unarmed ( though they access to them in case of need).
Lobby groups are about environment and not big business.
Our politicians come from all sectors and ethnicities and are not all fabulously wealthy or have wealthy backers with the self interest that entails.
Wines good, beers cold, beaches are beautiful, fishing is good.....
Think I will stay around these parts for ever. 
is kinda like that here too shooter....as states ( in the republic ).. the states kinda are not all the same...some are more into farming, some into industry, some are huge cities mostly.. some are tourism mostly ( vegas ? how weird is that ? ).. california ( I bow to the F1 official for at least the southern part of state.. north is way different ).. AZ ? ( and head east from there can draw a line of history from NO to Alamo etc )... lots of history in the states... some north some south...
this place is kinda new... like nz and au etc...and everyone is getting their sea legs...the sea of change and expansion.. I agree with Steve, is the best there is compared to what else has been tried... so far..
luckily most here in usa feel exactly same as you shooter... but we got cops with guns and criminals with guns... which is why the cops have guns.. and why rock and roll groups called themselves guns and roses etc... and why most tv shows now are about cops and guns or cops and microscopes PLUS guns...
hehe... we aint so bad.. and we like you. if i come visit you i would probably leave my guns home...and bring flowers instead....and some coors lite....
AdChoices